Freedom Is A Curse
by Ever-ringing-belle
Summary: As a young boy all Roxas wanted was to play beyond the castle walls. He wanted to explore, but he's not able to as the youngest prince. What is he willing to become to get his wish? And is the cost of freedom really worth the risks that come along with it? AkuRoku, minor SoRiku
1. Falling

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Its rightful owner is Square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura

Twilight Town, October 18th

Fall in the kingdom of Twilight Town was a beautiful sight to see. The everlasting setting suns colors along with the many shades of fall. Many of the local residents love the fall season, and the youngest prince of the kingdom was no exception to that either.

"Roxas!" A young boy with beautiful gold hair, and blue eyes that reminded people of a peaceful winter day, ran down the streets of the town with a smile on his face. No one could take away his time in the slightly chilly outdoors, not even his older brother, Sora. Another young boy around the same age as the blond, but with chestnut hair, and blue eyes that reminded the town people of the summer sky. "Roxas, we can't be out here! Besides why would you _want_ to be out here? It's so cold!"

Roxas merely laughed at his brothers words. "They can't keep us locked up in that castle forever Sora!" Was all he said as he took a sharp turn around a building. Looking around trying to get his twin brother off his tail, he spotted a pile of leaves, and laughed lightly as he dove in the pile of leafs.

"Roxas, come on! Let's just go home...Roxas?" The youngest prince heard his brother shuffle around for a couple of seconds before he heard footsteps running in another direction. Roxas' golden hair peeked up out of the leaves to make sure the coast was clear before getting out of the leaves. He smiled happily not seeing his brother as he strolled around town, saying hello to the locals of the kingdom not bothering to remove golden and red leaves from his hair.

Looking around, Roxas decided to go to the clock tower to watch the bells toll as soon as it hit 8 P.M., but before he could make it there he felt himself get scooped up. He panicked for a moment before he heard a familiar chuckle. "Gezz Rox, you're always getting into trouble. Clouds not going to be happy to hear you left the castle _again_." The little boy looked up with a smile to see a man with black hair, and blue eyes that held laughter in them.

"Zach!" He yelled happily as he hugged his oldest brother's best friend. Alongside Sora there was Cloud, but Cloud was nineteen while Sora and Roxas were only nine. Cloud became king a year ago. Their mother died giving birth to Sora and Roxas, while their father was assassinated on a visit to another kingdom. Leaving Cloud to be the youngest king the kingdoms ever had, and also to be guardian of the twins.

"Alright, let's get you home." Zach said with a slightly sad smile. He could understand why Roxas always left the kingdom, but sadly there was just no other way.

"But...Zach." The little blond protested. He didn't want to go back. Being locked up in the kingdom yet again. All he wanted to do was explore. He wanted to see the world beyond the walls of that castle. "Please Zach, just a little longer?" Roxas looked down sadly seeing the kind teen shake his head.

"You're already in enough trouble, Clouds going to be very angry that you didn't listen to him." Roxas flinched a little. He didn't like seeing his older brother mad. He felt Zach sigh as he put the youngest prince down. "Roxas..."

"Roxas!" Zach's sentence was interrupted as a blur of brown tackled Roxas to the ground. "Roxas, I thought you were kidnapped, or taken away! ...just like dad..." Roxas looked to see his twin brother in distress with watery eyes. Roxas hugged his twin and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I didn't mean to scare you." His older brother hugged back, glad to see his little brother was alright. Zach watched the twins with a smile.

"Alright, let's go home." He led the two back to the large castle that was their home.

-—

Roxas shuffled uncomfortably. He stood in front of a large door that had the name Cloud engraved on the door. He sighed knowing he was in trouble. Was it so much to ask to just have a little adventure? Roxas shook his head as he dejectedly knocked on the door. "Cloud?" The small blond heard a muffled 'come in', and opened the door. The door closed behind him with a click. He kept his eyes to the floor as he felt his brothers aggravation directed towards him.

"Roxas." The boy refused to look up. "Roxas, look at me." Roxas shyly looked up to see more sadness in his brother's eyes than anger. "C'mere." His older brother said gently. The young prince shuffled over and his older brother sighed as he hugged him. "I know you feel like you being locked up in here, but it's for your own good. I don't want what happened to dad to happen to you or Sora." He said with a gentle voice as he defanged leaves from the boy's hair.

"But he was outside the kingdom border, not the castle. I'm safe around everyone here." Roxas said trying to convince his brother to give him more freedom. Cloud looked at his brother a little shocked. Though he should be, everyone knew a Roxas was very smart and mature for his age. "Please, Cloud. I swear I'll be careful." Light blue eyes looked up at him pleadingly.

"Roxas, I trust you." Roxas' face light up with hope. "I just don't trust the other people. Please try to understand that I'm not punishing you." Cloud watch his baby brothers face fall with sadness. He watched as a tear fall down his soft cheeks. "Roxas!" He yelled as the blond ran out if the room. The young king sighed. "I'm sorry."

—

Roxas walked through the halls on his way to his room. Clouds words seem to echo through his head. 'I'm not doing this to punish you.' He sighed as he entered his overly large room. He sat down on the large window still looking over the city, the sky was mainly purple now that it was dark, but still maintained a lot if orange and yellow hues. He gently opened the window, smiling softly as be felt a cool breeze hit his face.

Looking up at the sky he was able to see a couple of stars. "Please, I just want to see the world. I want to see other places, other worlds. I want to be free and go where I want when I want without worry about being kidnapped just because I'm royalty." Roxas sighed sadly looking at the bright star. "How much longer do I have to wait for my dream to come true?"

"You know." Roxas jumped in surprise to hear a voice he didn't recognize. "If you have a dream, don't wait. Act." The small blond looked down to see a boy a couple of years older than him with stunning red hair, and acid green eyes. "The names Axel. Got it memorized?"

—

Cloud sighed as he finished reading a lettered he had just received. "The Heartless just attacked Radiant Garden. King Ansem is warning me that they might attack Twilight Town next." The Heartless were the most ruthless pirates to sail the seas. They've been raiding world by world for a decade now.

"We should alert the whole kingdom, and get troops ready in case they do." Zach said. He wasn't only Clouds best friend, he was also his right hand man. "You should probably alert castle security so they can keep a good eye out on Sora and Roxas." Cloud nodded.

"First of all I need you to go down to the docks and warn everyone there that an invasion is about to commence. I trust Ansem's word. We won't allow The Heartless to take anything."

"I'll go warn the sailors." Zach said with a cheeky smile to lighten up the situation a little bit. As he was about to leave he heard the king get up. He turned around knowing what Cloud wanted to hear. "Don't worry I'll be right back. I promise." He gave the blond a reassuring smile before running out of the castle. Cloud sighed watching him go.

"Everything will be fine." He whispered to himself. "We'll be prepared, and nothing bad will happen." Nodding to himself, he set out to find his little brothers. If something were to happen, he would be there to protect them.

Little did he know, he was too late.

—

**A/N: **This idea has been in my head for **DAYS**. I'm so glad I got it out, but I really want to keep typing, so this will probably be updated pretty fast. Please Review and tell me what you think!


	2. Chasing and sharing a dream

**Disclaimer**: See chapter one

**A/N**: Bet you thought I was never going to update. I'll explain at the end of the chapter what's been going on. I'll be updating regularly from now on!

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A sliver hair boy worked alongside his mother in the large kitchen inside of the palace. The boy, Riku, wouldn't normally be inside on such a gorgeous day. He would normally be play sparring or racing with his best friend, Sora. Riku searched all day, all around the palace and just could not find any sight of the spunky brunette. 'He was probably out having to chase Roxas down again.' He mused to himself in his thoughts. 

Thought Sora was his best friend, he had a special connection with Roxas. They understood each other, and their dreams. All they wanted was to see other places, to leave Twilight Town. Because there was nothing for them in Twilight Town. Riku, as the son to a maid and a guard for the palace gates, was never going to be anything save for a servant for the rest of his life. There was no way he could be anything but one.

Roxas being the third prince, was never likely to be able to rule. The crown would either be passed to Clouds children or to Sora. The likely hood of Roxas ever being king was slim. He would never rule. The young prince would live in the palace forever, as nothing more, with nothing more to do.

Though on very opposite ends of the spectrum, they understood each other well. They wanted more out of their lives. To go beyond Twilight Town. They wanted to have options to what they wanted to be. Sometimes after Sora went to bed, they would go outside, and stare at the stars. They both imagine how it would be. How others worlds would look. How the people act, dress. Riku even remembers a time where he and Roxas promised each other that if they ever had a chance to leave the kingdom that they would go without the other one.

It was nice to be understood and understand someone in return. It was the one thing he could never really talk about with Sora. It was funny how different the two twins actually were. But it was. Ice to have the best of both personalities.

"Riku, why don't you go see of Sora's around now?" The young boy was pulled out of his thoughts when his mother asked him the question. He looked up to see his mother smiling gently down at him.

"All right mom." He knew he was caught staring bored at nothing. Riku pushed himself away from the counter tops and out the kitchen. Deciding to take his mother's advice, Riku walked through the large warm hallways of the Twilight castle. He made his way up the stairs to a door with a silver crown. It was the same crown that hung around Sora's neck. He was about to knock on the door when he heard a particularly hard snore coming from the room. Chucking the older boy opened the door knowing no one would mind.

Upon opening the door he saw Sora in a pile of warm blankets. He shook his head knowing how his friend was with whether that wasn't summer. Riku walked over and pulled the blankets over his friend's feet that were not covered.

"It's not even cold outside you silky goof." He whispered softly sitting next to the younger one on the bed. The prince must have felt the disturbance seeing as he stirred from his slumber.  
>"Riku?" He mumbled sleepily. Riku smiled a rare gentle smile.<p>

"Yeah it's me, Sor. Go back to sleep." Sora yawned and looked up at his friend.

"You promise you'll still be here when I wake up?" Riku nodded.

"Of course I will." Sora smiled, satisfied with the answer. He nuzzled into his pillow and fell into a gentle sleep. The sweet moment ended when Riku heard a light tapping at Soras balcony window. Confused and cautious Riku looked down to see a certain blond with a unfamiliar red head. Riku stepped out onto the balcony and quietly shut the door behind him. He gave off a slight shiver. It was colder now that it was later into the evening.

"Roxas!" He hissed trying to keep his voice quiet. "What are you doing? And who's that?" Riku asked his companion.

"I'm here to talk to give Sora something." Roxas told him, completely ignoring the last question. "You actually made this a lot easier." Roxas climbed the vibes that were growing up along the wall by Sora's balcony.

"Be careful!" He whispered seeing Roxas lose his footing. Riku pulled Roxas up the rest of the way when he got close enough. "Mind telling me what's going on here?" He'd never seen Roxas act this way. Not since before he was bound the castle grounds.

"I came to give Sora a goodbye gift..." He whispered with a sad smile. "Riku this is our chance, we can finally go now. I still remember our promise from that night." Riku's eyes widen realizing what Roxas was talking about now.

"Where would we go?" Was Roxas serious? He knew they were going to leave someday, but he never thought they'd get an opportunity so soon.

"We're going to many different places, but I won't go unless you're with me. This is our dream, and I don't want to leave you behind." Riku was touched, but looked back into the room.

"What about Sora?" The silver hair boy watched the blondes eyes sadden.

"I'll miss my brothers a lot, but I can't live like this forever. I feel so trapped." Those words rang so much truth. They might not get another opportunity like this ever again. It was an internal battle in his heart. Between Sora, and his lifelong dream.

"We'll be back someday, and tell them about our adventures." Roxas smiled at the response and a Riku actually felt excited.

"I just wanted to leave Sora a note, and a gift." Roxas held up a silver necklace with a trinket shaped like a…Key? "The keyblades are the family crest of the family. They're also some of the rarest weapons in the world. Each keyblade for every member of royalty is different. This is Sora's keyblade. I was going to give it to him for his birthday but..." He merely shook his head, physically unable to say the rest of his words. Roxas simply walked into the room.

Riku watched from the outside as the younger brother put a note in Sora's private box where he kept all of his most valued prize possessions along with the necklace. The blond leaned over his brother and whispered words very gently in his ear. He kissed his older brother cheek, and quickly wiped away a tear that managed to escape. The blond hurry out back onto the balcony.

"I'll give you a minute to say goodbye." Was all he said before he climbed back down, the redhead below caught him as he fell the last few meters. Riku saw the blonde's tears were blocking his vision. Though Roxas tears were sad he knew that he would regret what he was doing.

Riku sighed and entered the room, getting goose bumps from the temperature change. He looked over at the peaceful looking brunette. The silverette knew that peace wouldn't last long when he realized his baby brother and his best friend were missing. Riku walked over to a desk that lied in the corniced of the room. He pulled out a piece of paper and simply wrote. 'I'm sorry I broke my promise'. He left it on the desk knowing it would be seen for a while for Sora was lazy when it came to his school work.

Seeing this as maybe his last opportunity to do this ever again. He leaned over and gave the boy a soft kiss before disappearing down the balcony.  
><strong>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX<strong> 

Roxas watched seeing his friend make his way down the balcony. He smirked a little to see a slight blush of his pale face. "Did you make a move on my brother?" The smirk widen to see the flush deepen and hearing stammering of denial.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas laughed, that's when he noticed a amused red head standing next to the blond. "And what are you laughing at carrot top?" He hissed pulling the blond away from the other male.

"When Roxy here told me about you, I didn't expect you to be such a sap." The stranger said casually pulling Roxas back toward him by slinging his arm around the smaller boys shoulder. Riku glared, and Roxas felt like a tug-a-war toy.

"Hey _Roxy_ mind telling me who this is?" Riku growled, not liking the atmosphere around the other. Roxas chuckled, not bothering to correct either male about his name.

"Riku this is Axel. Axel this is Riku. Riku, Axel is the one who's making us leave possible. Without him we'd be stuck here forever." Axel smiled proudly at the introduction the blond had given him. Riku frowned but calmed down.

"Well then I guess I better be thanking you." Riku said with a defeated tone. Axel chuckled at the expression.

"Well I couldn't let this cutie to rot here forever." Riku raised an eyebrow at the cutie part but decided to let it slide. He could already see where these two future was headed. Simply by the way Roxas never objected to the nicknames or the close contact despite the fact that they just met.  
>"Just how old are you anyway?" From now on it'll be him that'll look after Roxas. He know that's what Sora and Cloud would want. Roxas was practically his little brother too.<p>

"Twelve." Just as Riku was about to respond there was a shake in the ground, and a gust of wind with the sound if bullets. "That's enough get to know each other, we got plenty of time for that, but it's time to get going." He ran dragging a Roxas and Riku with him away from the noise. They ran for about fifteen minutes before they reached an empty dock. "Say welcome to your new home. The ship that belongs to Organization XIII."  
><strong>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX<strong> 

Cloud rushed down the halls to his little brothers room. If the heartless were attacking the town it would. Mostly like be soon seeing as that letter Ansem the Wise gave him was dated a week ago. He stopped and knocked on a door with two keyblades crossed over each.

"Roxas?" The young king opened the door to see an empty room. Unlike Sora, Roxas was a neat person. Everything was tidy as usual. "Where could have he gone?" Thinking he was with his older twin, Cloud rushed over to Sora's room. He was starting to get a bad feeling. Whenever Roxas got in trouble he was always in his room thinking. With the Heartless approaching he needed to find Roxas.

Not bothering to knock this time, Cloud entered Sora's room. He saw said boy but still no sign of Roxas. The older blond walked over to Sora's bed and shook him awake until he received an irritated mumble." Sora, wake up." Sora peeked his head out from under his pillow at his brother's tone of voice.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked groggily. He took a look around the room. "Where's Riku?"

"I don't know, where Roxas?" Sora sat up.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since we got back home." He didn't like that look on his bothers face. Cloud was normally always calm and collected no matter. Something terrible must have happened. "What's going on?" Cloud opened his mouth to explain but was cut off as a guard opened the door.

"Your Highness! The Heartless are attacking the town!" Sora froze hearing the news. "And also..." The guard trailed off seeing the look on the young boys face.

"Go on." Cloud urged the guard as he squeezed Sora's hand to reassure him.

"Organization XIII is here as well." As soon as those words were finished, not here was a loud crash as the balcony door in the room broke. Fire broke out in the room. Cloud immediately grab Sora and rushed out of the now burning room.

"Cloud! What about Roxas?!" He asked looking back as the exited the castle. He was out down to the ground on his own two feet.

"I'm going back in to find him." As Cloud moved to go back into the castle he felt a tug at the back of his shirt. The oldest looked back to see Sora with tears brimming in his eyes. "Don't worry Sora, I'll be out soon with Roxas. I promise."

"And Riku too?" Cloud smiled and ruffled Sora's hair.

"I'll be back with both of them." Sora nodded and let his brother go.  
>Many promises made to Sora were broken that day.<br>**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night two hundred and fifty people were killed, and Roxas and Riku were declared missing. If they weren't dead they must have been kidnapped by one of the pirate crews. Cloud and Sora were in mourning and so was the whole kingdom. It hit Sora especially hard. To lost his twin and his best friend in the same night.

Sora walked up the stairs to the burned hallway where his room lied. He entered the room to find it mostly charred. His box of prized possessions was mostly salvaged. He found a note that was hard to read. It must have been charged from all the smoke. There was a necklace attach to it. Sora looked curiously at the note, but all he managed to read was Roxas.

Sora's heart lighten with hope. His brother must be alive then. He looked at the necklace and realized it was a keyblade. The prince smiled with hope now shinning in his eyes as he placed the necklace around his neck.

"We'll find you, Roxas." He whispered. "No matter how long it takes, I'll keep searching." With that said and done the young price ran down the stairs to inform his older brother that Roxas was still alive somewhere. "And if Roxas is alive, then Riku must be too." And thus began the long search for the young loved prince of Twilight Town.  
><strong>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX<strong>

**A/N**: I will be updating every weekend starting from now on. I wasn't able to update this past week due to homecoming, and I had a concert to attend.

I hated how short the last chapter was so I forced myself to write as much as possible. Thank you to everyone who reviewed or added this story to their faves/ alerts! Please keep reviewing! It keeps me motivated to continue writing!


End file.
